


New In Town

by genitalherpes



Category: Don’t Breathe (2016)
Genre: Can be platonic or romantic, Emotional Baggage, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Fluff, GO WATCH THIS MOVIE IF YOU HAVENT, Gen, Gender-Neutral Pronouns, Gender-neutral Reader, Horror, Older Man/Younger Protagonist, POST DONT BREATHE, Platonic Relationships, Psychological Horror, Reader-Insert, Reader-Interactive, Romance, The Blind Man - Freeform, and a lot of fluff, either one works, haha i hate myself, idk yet, its gucci, it’s pretty fucking dark but, just emotional support for norman, norman instantly likes them but won’t admit it, not exactly horror, one-shot?, reader plays a ukelele, so after the kids come and kills norman’s wife n’ shit, such an edgy fucker
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-03-23
Updated: 2019-03-23
Packaged: 2019-11-28 19:52:37
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,925
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18212861
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/genitalherpes/pseuds/genitalherpes
Summary: a lot can come from petting the neighbors dogs





	New In Town

**Author's Note:**

> listen to (https://youtube.com/watch?v=elV4tGsHcUo) to get in the mood, and just imagine taking a nice walk down an abandoned neighborhood,,, you might even meet a new friend while you’re at it :”))))

“ y’know **,** there’s an old man who lives just on the other side’s of these here roads... norman, i believe his name is **.** real hard to actually see him out in daylight **,** so don’t pay him much attention **,** ya **’** hear?”

 

 

    your eyes look up from where they laid, on an older newspaper from back in the sixties, as you give the voice a once over. your new neighbor, mr. fisher, had invited you over to get to know you better (neighborly theatrics, as he’d say), as his wife cooked you both up a mouth watering breakfast that was to die for.

    re-focusing your vision to the big bold letters of the newspaper, you nod your head in understanding, as you greatfully bite down on another piece of crispy bacon.

    “alright, alright.. i’ll pretend the man doesn’t exist. but weren’t you the one to tell me to be nice to ALL my neighbors, mr. fisher?” the man merely chuckles, shaking his head as he pulls off his dirtied baseball cap; mr. fishers really into baseball by the way.

    “what’d i tell ya’? you can just call me mark, darlin’—” he shook his head, fiddling with the brims of his cap before lazily placing it back onto of his faded brown locks. ms. fisher, or as you should say, maria, had come back over to join you both at the table— her petite frame fitting perfectly in the little chair that you presumed, was hers. from upstairs you could hear a pair of voices giggling and screaming at one another, which you had earlier learned was mark’s and maria’s sons, dimitri and dickson. 

    “—and even if i told you that, there are still people who don’t..  _understand_ , hospitality when you show it to them. just be careful if you ever find yer’self walkin’ down ol’ norman’s part of the town. it’s as abandoned as a roosters coop in winter!” maria nodded her head, taking a small sip from her coffee cup. “he’s right, dear. that old mans got nothin’ but the war pumping through him, and the fact that his wife died doesn’t help his burnin’ rage”

    your brows furrowed at the new information, trying to understand why a person; a war vet, nonetheless- would be living in an abandoned section of the neighborhood. sure, he probably just doesn’t like other humans interacting with him, but surely he’s all lonely being out there by himself, right? “does he have like.. a pet? or something?”

    “an’ rottweiler, i believe. though it ain’t a friendly one, that’s for sure” mark let out a joking laugh, as he finished off his last bits of hash browns and eggs.

    “the thing bites the second you go near it.. another reason to stay away from the place” you thoughtfully took that into account, as you got up from your seat while picking up the cleaned off plates. ms. fisher was about to complain, stating that you were the guest of the house, but you had already walked the few feets necessary towards the sink.

    you thanked the two of them for the chat and meal, as you began your treck towards your own home. the last thing mark yelled to you before you left was, _come visit some time soon,_ and that was it.

 

• • •

 

    the soft ticking of your clock was undoubtedly more frustrating then your lack of entertainment. the cable guy wasn’t coming until next week, and your electricity was still on the fritz. the books you would normally read were all tucked away in one of the many, many boxes, and unpacking them didn’t exactly sound like a fun time. the only thing left for you to do was to stare at your possessions, hoping they would put themselves away, or head out for a nice walk. 

    the second option was OBVIOUSLY more exciting then the last, so it didn’t take a lot for you to push yourself off your couch and head towards the door. though, you did pause to grab your trusted ukelele, before stepping out onto your front porch.

    the few chords that were out of tune we’re plucked back into their rightful tones, as you tiredly strummed away without a second thought. your feet, which you now noticed were in mismatching shoes, were carrying you down a straight path along the sidewalk.

    you trusted them enough to guide you safely.

    along your walk, a couple other neighbors stopped what they were doing to greet you, complimenting your playing before heading back in their homes.

    by now it had turned dark, you spending your whole day walking around as you entrusted yourself to not walk on any of your neighbors front lawns (which you had guessed, were cut and trimmed the previous day). what did stop you, was the sight of the abandoned part of town.

    most of the houses looked decrepit, almost falling down from the unsound structures they held. the only home that stood remarkably proud and strong, was the second to last house on the right. sure, the windows were broken, broken by what? who knows— but it was still a gorgeous building.

    dialing down the loudness of your strums, you hoped the older man wouldn’t hear you, as you continued down your path. along the way you spot a dog sleeping soundly on the porch, which you could tell was the rottweiler mr. fisher had warned you about.

    making it to the other side, you turn on your heels and walk back, crossing paths with the looming home as you paused. at this point, the large dog had sat up completely, watching you with dull eyes as it expected you to run— flee. perhaps you would try and drug it like the last people that came by his home— 

   but instead, you crouch down and offer it your hand, your uke going on the cement ground as you smile. the beast tilted its head, slowly stooping over until letting out a small bark. once it got to you, it sniffed at your hands until giving it a few licks. you simply assumed it liked you, which you were a hundred percent alright with.

    “see, mr. fisher was wrong. you aren’t that bad for an old dog” your eyes trained themselves on the door of the home, as the pup leaned into your touch. you gladly petted it. “your owner probably isn’t that bad either” you muttered, slowly getting up while giving the dog one last pat on the head.

    with another bark, the dog whined something fierce. it’s head shot towards the little alleyway thing that spaced out the second house next to it, as a man came rushing out. he whistled, causing the dog to rush over and greet its owner (at least- you _think_ he’s it’s owner) as you stood there, sorta awkwardly. 

    “uhh... didn’t mean to intrude, sir. i was just doing some rounds around the neighborhood, saw your dog and couldn’t help but petting it, y’know?” your words weren’t jumbled, which was a pleasant surprise as the man tensed at your voice. it seemed he didn’t even know you were here (or from his observations, thought you had left already). 

    seeing how uncomfortable he was you weren’t sure whether or not to go and offer your hand as an introduction, but going off your hypothesis about him not liking human interaction, you decided against it. instead you offered him your name, which he seemed to have caught since he muttered something under his breath.

    “...norman.” 

    you blinked, having to process what he had said as your face flushed slightly. “oh ah— it’s nice to meet you mr. norman sir.. i- uh, mean— norman” you coughed, further making yourself even more awkward then you previously were. he seemed to loosen up, know that he knew he wasn’t the only one who was.. unsettled, by this conversation (though was it really a conversation if only one person talked?)

    that’s when you noticed his scars. if you had continued to be an overly emotional individual then you would’ve probably shuffled away and back onto the main road, but seeing him out under the moon light— seeing him made you aware of why he hadn’t met your eyes.

    he was blind.

    the realization hadn’t instantly hit you like a pile of bricks, but as soon as you made the puzzle pieces click, everything came tumbling down like an avalanche. you somehow also grew more comfortable as the seconds passed by, knowing norman couldn’t see how fidgety you were now that he was here.

   “heh, i’m not usually this awkward when meeting new people. sorry about that, and again, about intruding. some people told me not to bother you, but here i am doing so... i’ll just be on my way” you mumbled out the apology once more, about to step off his lawn until a hand was quick to firmly grasp your shoulder.

    turning back, you find norman had somehow made a quick stride towards you, keeping you from walking any further. he slowly shook his head. “no, no.. it’s alright. i don’t usually get many visitors, per se. n- not many people want to be down these parts anyways. you.. er, play beautifully. what instrument..” he paused, his brows knitting together. “..do you play?” you smiled slightly, though you guess he couldn’t see it, “ukelele. got it as a gift few years back. didn’t realize i was playing so loud for you to hear me” 

   once more, he shook his head. “i was in the back.. gardening. heard my pup er’e bark and came rushing over. it was odd since she’s such a quiet gal”

    you weren’t sure if norman was the type to talk a lot, but you somehow felt proud of yourself to get him to speak to you. you smiled again. “yeah, i guess it would be. though, she did seem a little hesitant to come near me” norman grimaced, but he kept it on the downlow

    “robbers. hurt my poor girls foot.. that’s why i keep so much security around” he pointed up towards his house, where now that you properly look, is a camera pointing right at them. “i’m sorry about that. guess some people have nothing better to do then try to steal from silent folks, huh.” 

    norman seemed to darken slightly at that, as he rubbed his fingers on the fabric of your shirt. he seemed disoriented for a second, as he listened carefully to everything around you both. the trees, wind... your breathing. 

    his dog soon barked as it watched the two of your interact, your knees bending down to reassure it of whatever it barked about. doing this, norman’s hand lost its light grip on your shoulder, as the emptiness soon re-emerged through his fingertips. oh, how he missed the warmth of another.

   you stood up then. “i think it’s high time i head back home. it was nice meeting you, norman. i’ll come visit again sometime, alright?” it was now your turn to place your hand on his shoulder, causing him to want and lean into it— feel another’s presence once more. but he stopped himself, knowing how odd it would be for you, and himself. god, he missed his wife.

    “alright” 

    with that, your ukelele was placed firmly on your back, the strings keeping it in place; as you started your walk back home. norman listened to your footsteps fade away, as he felt his dogs snout run against his finger tips. when he knew you were fully gone, he headed inside.

**Author's Note:**

> insta * @asianqtips  
> tumblr(s) * @03faust AND @cantvoreus  
> wattpad * @VOREHEES
> 
> chapter is UNEDITED.


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